By The newspaper
25 Oct 2023, 11:47 AM EDT
Christine Rizzo, a 57-year-old woman, was arrested on suspicion of selling drugs to an undercover officer on four occasions and police allegedly found narcotics when they raided her Staten Island (NYC) home.
Authorities allege Rizzo was selling drugs before officers armed with a search warrant invaded his home in the Warwick Avenue, Meiers Corners neighborhood this month, according to the criminal complaint.
Officers allegedly recovered more than one-eighth of an ounce of cocaine, as well as heroin, oxycodone, sedatives alprazolam and clonazepam, and 3, 4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA), he said. SILive.com.
The seized paraphernalia allegedly included two scales as well as empty plastic zipper bags typically used to package drugs, according to the criminal complaint and the NYPD.
Rizzo allegedly exchanged plastic bags containing cocaine for cash with an undercover officer in July, August and October in his neighborhood.
The suspect was charged with criminal possession and sale of a controlled substance and criminal use of drug paraphernalia, among other charges. Rizzo pleaded “not guilty” to all the crimes charged and must return to Criminal Court on December 5. Her lawyer has not commented.
All charges are mere accusations and those charged are presumed innocent until proven guilty in court.
In a similar case, last week an NYPD officer and her boyfriend, both Hispanic, were charged on suspicion of conspiracy to distribute dangerous narcotics, including fentanyl, heroin and cocaine. They were arrested Thursday near her Yonkers (NY) apartment after a meeting to complete a transaction with an informant.
Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid that can be used to mix drugs such as cocaine or heroin and produce an effect up to 50 times stronger.
The growing supply of fentanyl has exacerbated the city’s drug epidemic: the deadly opioid is detected in 80% of overdose deaths, according to the Department of Health (DOH). Several babies have even died this year in NYC due to narcotic use in their homes and daycares.
Additionally, according to the NYPD, at least 43 cases of fentanyl overdoses, seven of them fatal, are linked to two separate patterns of robberies at nightclubs in and around Manhattan dating back to September 2021.